It’s the proverbial calm after the storm. Though life in Agartala is gradually becoming normal, the recent bomb blasts have left a deep scar on the psyche of the people and dented the confidence that has been built up in the last few years.

The people of Tripura are concerned about the recent blasts in Agartala and quite a few questions have been raised - Who were the masterminds behind the blasts? What were the motives behind such dastardly acts in Tripura, a state which has never witnessed such acts of horror even at the peak of militancy in the state? Is it the starting of ‘urbanization of militancy’?

The answer lies in the question itself. Militants had to some how establish their existence, to show that they are still surviving.

People were quite happy about the peace that has come after years of violence in the state but the recent blasts have again brought round memories of the past.

“There is a suspicion that people across the border are involved in these blasts, maybe the jehadis. They are doing such things in the entire Northeastern region. According to the security forces, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) backed Bangladesh-based jehadis are active and are trying to create problems, said Sujit Chakraborty, an inhabitant of Tripura.

Sekhar Dutta, a senior journalist in Tripura, said, “The involvement of the ISI is quite possible as it is known to create problems in neighbouring countries. Even within Pakistan such reports have come out in various books and newspapers. ISI is an extra constitutional body and is not under the real control of democratic government.”

“It is possible that they would fish in troubled waters, as their main purpose is to create trouble in India and make it bleed,” added Dutta.

The suspicion of foreign elements being involved in the blasts is due to the similarities between the blasts in Tripura and other parts of the country. The main suspects in these blasts are alleged to be Jehadi elements.

The arrest of four persons, of whom three are suspected to be Harkat-ul-Jihadi-Islami (HUJI) militants, in the backdrop of the Agartala serial blasts point towards the involvement of Islamic fundamentalist who are active in their safe havens in Bangladesh.

Wasibur Hussain, a faculty at Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, Guwahati, in a TV interview said, “The incidents in Tripura have to be examined in the light of the fact that at the end of September, the army claimed to have shot down seven HUJI militants in Assam. So, if you look at the blast it is possible that it is the handiwork of the same set of people, who are behind other blasts in the country, who want to demonstrate that they can strike anywhere and at any given time.”

“In terms of blasts that have happened across the nation, their similarity with the recent blasts in Tripura can be established only after chemical tests. But in terms of the pattern used, there are similarities with the incidents happening in the rest of the country and in Tripura,” said Pranay Sahay, Director General of Police, Tripura.

Ultimately CID with the arrest of 17 people, including four of the prime suspects in the recent serial blasts completed the investigation in the case even as it is on the lookout for two other suspects.

Statements of the four arrested suspects state that, the explosives were packed in containers and seperate mobile sets with active SIM cards were attached to them, connecting the batteries, and when they made calls to the particular numbers, the mobile phones got activated and triggered the blast.

Manas Paul, an expert on the militancy in the Northeast said “They (militants) have no other means of proving their existence but to conduct these blasts in Agartala due to the barbed wire fencing around the state with Bangladesh.  Due to this fencing, they can no longer move in and out of the state freely, moreover, they can no longer dominate the interior areas due to the heavy deployment of security forces and the lost tribal support. So the only option left was to target soft areas which they recently had been doing.”

Meanwhile, Tripura police sought help from its Assam counterpart with the statements of the arrested militants, a group of All Tripura Tiger Force activists, which revealed that the ATTF had undergone training in the use of explosives under the guidance of their ally, ULFA, before being intensively trained by a group of BDR and DGFI officers at Muksinghat near Chittagong town in Bangladesh in August and September.

Tripura police informed about the details of the confession of the militants to Assam police and reportedly a team of special branch from Assam police will visit Agartala soon.

Since ULFA was suspected to have supplied the materials for manufacturing explosives and imparting preliminary training to a number of ATTF militants in handling bombs, the state authorities sought Assam’s help, police added.

However, critics believe that ATTF alone has not conducted these blasts without external support. Tripura, has been experiencing the threat of illegal Bangladesh migrants for a long time. In the course of time, these migrants have become the sleeping cells of Islamic ultras, residing on the other side of the border

Chandana Bhowmik